Skip to main content

Amazon testing disinfectant fog at New York warehouse after coronavirus protests

(ITNTV) - Amazon.com Inc is testing the use of disinfectant fog at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York starting on Tuesday, the company told Reuters, following worker protests over the risk of coronavirus infection at the site.
FILE PHOTO: Protesters are seen at Amazon building during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Staten Island borough of New York City, U.S., March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
The measure shows how the world’s largest online retailer is aiming to increase safety cleaning without closing facilities essential to its operation, as some workers and elected officials have demanded.
Amazon said it is trying out disinfectant fog as used by airlines and hospitals to further sanitize its facilities. The pilot program follows an announcement last week that the company would check workers’ temperature and make masks available at all U.S. and European sites in its operations network.
“We continue to explore even more preventative measures to support the health and safety of employees, who are providing a critical service in our communities,” Amazon said in a statement.
ADVERTISEMENT
The New York warehouse, known internally as JFK8, is one of several locations where small groups of Amazon employees have walked out to highlight the risks they face from working where colleagues have become infected with the virus, which causes the sometimes deadly COVID-19 respiratory illness.
The virus has led to at least 80,000 deaths globally and infected more than 1.4 million people - including workers at more than 50 Amazon facilities, according to a New York Times report. New York is currently the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak with by far the most confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths.
The company has said it is requiring staff to keep safe distances from each other.
The Staten Island warehouse drew particular attention after Amazon fired an employee on paid quarantine for participating in a protest last week that he helped organize.
ADVERTISEMENT
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union called on company executives to resign after an internal document leaked, in which Amazon’s general counsel described that employee as “not smart, or articulate.”
The general counsel then issued a statement saying frustration over the health risks created by the employee had clouded his judgment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel to fight coronavirus

Madrid (ITNTV) The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the  ongoing spread of the coronavirus  on the continent. "The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote. The bloc's member states imposed aggressive measures on Monday,  days after the  World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe was at the epicenter of the pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron declared "war" on the virus during a national address on Monday, banning all social events across the country -- including family gatherings. Macron said those who have gathered in public places in recent days have not been respecting previous measures to limit the outbreak's spread in France, which as of Monday had 5,380 con...
Post a Comment
Read more

US uses encrypted app to connect with Iranians as coronavirus sweeps their country

Washington (ITNTV) The State Department is using social media to encourage Iranians to share information with the Trump administration -- both on an encrypted tip line and through an online survey -- about the  coronavirus pandemic  that is devastating the country. "This is Iran's Chernobyl," said one administration official of the outbreak, who described social media portals as a tool to bypass the Iranian regime and connect to the country's people. The US began encouraging Iranians to use the encrypted messaging app last year, when Iranian demonstrators took to the streets and US officials wanted to learn more about the regime's bloody crackdown. Now, with Covid-19 devastating Iran, the tip line has been reinvigorated, administration officials told CNN. This time, the goal is to collect information from Iranians, find ways to share that information when it is determined to be accurate and leverage the coronavirus in an effort to fortify a relationship ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Virus creates world's longest passenger flight

(ITNTV) —  The aviation industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with travelers across the world dealing with canceled flights and travel bans as they scramble to get home. But one unlikely aviation side effect is the creation of a new world aviation record. On March 14, French airline Air Tahiti Nui flew the longest ever scheduled passenger flight by distance -- transiting 9,765 miles across the world from Papeete, in Tahiti, French Polynesia, to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport. This one off milestone was a direct consequence of the coronavirus-induced US travel restrictions. This route usually involves a scheduled stopover at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). But when an airplane stops over in the US, all passengers must alight the aircraft and proceed through US Customs and Border Protection before they're allowed to advance on with the next leg of their journey. Current restrictions rendered this part of the journey untenable, so instead, f...
Post a Comment
Read more